Communication networks and systems for mobile devices, such as mobile computers and mobile handheld communication devices, are currently experiencing challenges related to bandwidth bottlenecks because of the relatively narrow bandwidth available in conventional cellular modem data transmissions, for example, as compared to broadband Internet connections. Additionally, the availability of public wireless networking access points has proliferated. While desktop and laptop computers often have easy access to broadband networking and the Internet, mobile handheld devices remain constricted by the expensive, narrow bandwidth available in the cellular network. The high monthly cost of cellular communication remains a deterrent that dissuades many potential users from adopting new wireless handheld technologies. Even with the application of state-of-the-art data compression and data optimization techniques, a high data overhead remains a challenge for meaningful data transmission to portable handheld devices.
In another aspect, conventional handheld communication devices offer little or no control of data delivery among various mediums, e.g. of whether a particular piece of data should be sent using a cellular connection or a wireless local area (WLAN) network connection when available.
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